Alejandro (song)
|album = The Fame Monster |previous = "Bad Romance" |next = "Monster" }} "Alejandro" is a song written by Lady Gaga and RedOne in 2009, for The Fame Monster. The song was released as a digital download, along with "Dance in the Dark" as a promotional single on the United Kingdom's iTunes, as part of the count down for the album release. The song was released as the third international single. Background The song was written while they were in Amsterdam and Ibiza during the summer of 2009 according to RedOne. The violin solo played at the beginning of the song is an adaptation of the main melody of the only famous work of Vittorio Monti: Csárdás (or Czardas). In fact, the song progression is not entirely unlike that of a traditional Csárdás, starting slowly at first and ending with a fast tempo. With this particular song, she stated "I'm saying goodbye to all my past boyfriends..". In an interview, Gaga said that each of her songs written for The Fame Monster were all influenced by a monster. The monsters all take place in each song; for example, "Alejandro" was influenced by her "Fear of Men Monster". She confirmed this monster in an interview On the Record with Fuse. In the song, 'Alejandro' represents Alexander McQueen, 'Fernando' represents Fernando Garibay, one of the producers she worked with on the album and for The Monster Ball Tour, and 'Roberto' represents Rob Fusari, an old producer and ex-boyfriend. The lyrics talk about Gaga defending herself against a "harem" of Latin men and has a number of ABBA allusions, including a reference to their 1976 song "Fernando", which Gaga cited as one of her influences. Composition "Alejandro" is a mid-tempo song with heavy europop and disco influences, is an apparent homage to ABBA and Ace of Base. The Ace of Base influences are prominent in the beats of the song, the vocals and the melody and lastly, in Gaga's non-English accent while singing the song. The words are slurred in her mouth while consisting of an uplifting melody. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the song is set in the time signature of common time, with a moderate tempo of 80 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of B minor with Gaga's vocal range spanning from F♯3 to A4. The song has a basic sequence of Bm–D–F♯m–Bm–D–F♯m as its chord progression. Critical reception On November 25, 2009, "Alejandro" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at #75, along with many other tracks from The Fame Monster, due to high digital downloads. Digital downloads also helped give it a top five entry in Hungary at #5, peaking higher than "Poker Face" had. Chris Ryan from MTV called the song a "lush paean to a love that's 'hot like Mexico'." Bill Lamb from About.com commented that the song "is a bit like Madonna's classic "La Isla Bonita" with a contemporary edge." Paul Lester from BBC felt that "Alejandro moves at an Ace of Base pace." Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine also made an Ace of Base connection calling the song a homage to them. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic denoted the song as an "updated ABBA revision". Mikael Wood of Los Angeles Times called it bubbly and compared the style to ABBA. Ben Patashnik from NME called the song light-hearted. Jon Dolan from Rolling Stone called it a "loving ABBA spoof". Scott Plagenhoef of Pitchfork Media noted that although "Alejandro" is an ABBA morph, "it comes off very modern, in part because U.S. pop and hip-hop is currently drawing heavily from Europop, hi-NRG, and dance music." Chava Thomas from The Argonaut gave a negative review, saying "'Alejandro' is the one low point on The Fame Monster. The song feels forced, and its Latin beat does not mesh well with Lady Gaga's style." Michael Hubbard of MusicOMH said that "'Alejandro' is brilliantly catchy, deceptively simple and wonderfully melancholy." Evan Sawdey from PopMatters said that Gaga's vocals sounded like those of Shakira's, in the chorus of the song. Sarah Hajibagheri from The Times called the song "painful Latino warble and a would-be Eurovision reject." "Alejandro" received the most votes for the summer anthem on Fuse: Where Music Loves, hosted a "Hottest Summer Songs Poll". References in popular culture *The song was featured in the "Mulholland" episode of Melrose Place which aired on March 23, 2010. *It was featured on a commercial for the grand final of So You Think You Can Dance (Australia). *On June 1, 2010, Larry King Live had Lady Gaga as a guest star. A preview of the music video for "Alejandro" was played in the background, with a mixture of the music videos of "Just Dance", "Poker Face", "LoveGame", "Paparazzi", "Bad Romance", and "Telephone". Also throughout the episode, there were headlines stating, "ALEJANDRO MUSIC VIDEO PREVIEW". Commercial release "Alejandro" is the third single from The Fame Monster. When Gaga Daily was asked about this in January of 2010, they stated it was just a rumor. It was officially announced to be true later that year during an interview with Nova FM in Melbourne. On April 4, 2010, Lady Gaga tweeted that she has heard Alejandro on the radio. According to Perez Hilton, he tweeted "It's going to be the summer of Alejandro, as that song has been chosen to be Gaga's 3rd single off her "Fame Monster" album. Arriba!" On April 12, 2010, a rumor started spreading, stating that "Dance in the Dark" would be released as the third single in Australia, as opposed to "Alejandro". However, "Alejandro" was kept as the third Australian single. The single was officialy sent to US radio stations on April 20, 2010. On June 19th, 2010, Gaga Daily said that “Alejandro” is the final single off The Fame Monster, however "Dance in the Dark" was sent to radios in Australia, New Zealand and France. Physical release France (274403-5) United Kingdom (2744129) Germany (0602527455587) United States — The Remixes (B0014501-22) United Kingdom (2744130) ;Side A (45RPM) ;Side B (33RPM) Lady Gaga's Webstore *Prayer Candle Reading: NO LLAME MI NOMBRE ALEJANDRO (Translation: DO NOT CALL MY NAME ALEJANDRO) *Red Rose Ring *T-shirt Reading: NO LLAME MI NOMBRE ALEJANDRO (Translation: DO NOT CALL MY NAME ALEJANDRO) *The option of either: **The physical EP CD **The MP3 **Without the single. (Only merchandise) Remixes *Afrojack Remix — 4:48 *Bimbo Jones Remix — 6:40 *Bimbo Jones Radio Edit — 3:19 *Bimbo Jones Dub — ??? *Bimbo Jones Vocal Mix) — 6:42 *Chew Fu Club Remix — 5:21 *Dave Audé Club Mix — 7:15 *Dave Audé Dub — 6:30 *Dave Audé Mixshow — 6:07 *Dave Audé Radio Edit — 3:52 *Electrolightz Remix — 3:57 *Kim Fai Remix — 7:20 *Kleerup Remix — 5:22 *Rusko's Papuseria Remix — 3:53 *Skrillex Remix — 5:49 *Skrillex Extended Remix — 6:17 *The Sound of Arrows Remix — 3:57 Performances Concert tours Lyrics Music video }} thumb|250px|right|The official video. "Alejandro" is the music video for Lady Gaga's third single off the The Fame Monster. The video was filmed on April 30, 2010 by fashion photographer Steven Klein. It was revealed by Gaga on May 28, 2010 during her UK leg of The Monster Ball Tour in Birmingham that the video was to be released on May 31, 2010. The premiere, however, was later annouced officially to be June 7, 2010. Despite this, the video was pushed a further day and finally premiered on Gaga's official website on June 8, 2010 at 5pm (GMT) via YouTube. The music video garnered just under 25 million views on YouTube within three weeks of its release, making it the first video in the history of YouTube to do so. Development Lady Gaga made an appearance on The Hamish & Andy Show, hosted by Hamish Blake and Andy Lee, which airs on radios in Australia on 2Day FM. While on the talk show, Gaga confirmed that she was planning a music video for the single. On March 23, 2010, Women's Wear Daily mentioned that the director is fashion-photographer Steven Klein, which Gaga later confirmed in a tweet. She also said that there were not going to be celebrity appearances in her video. While on Nova 96.9, she gave more information about the video: After confirming that Klein was directing her video, Gaga explained that she "doesn't know what video is going to look like until it's finished", and commented that "Klein is a very good friend of mine and I love him so much, ... I have so much respect for him. And we've been excited to collaborate and have a fashion photographer tell us a story, the story of my music through his lens and this idea of fashion and lifestyle." Gaga explained that Klein understood her "I am what I wear" lifestyle, making him a suitable director for the video. She added, "It's all about where I'm from and love of theater and love of music and love of the lie in art, and Steven really knows and understands that, .... So we're making a beautiful video, and I'm so excited." In May 2010, Gaga told The Times about the concept of the video: "about the purity of my friendships with my gay friends, and how I've been unable to find that with a straight man in my life. It's a celebration and an admiration of gay love—it confesses my envy of the courage and bravery they require to be together. In the video I'm pining for the love of my gay friends—but they just don't want me to be with them." After the release of the video, Gaga spoke about the creative processes that went on during the filming. Inspiration Several people, including various media outlets claim that the video is based on Madonna's music video for Vogue; however, this is incorrect. The director, Stephen Klein, developed the video based on his own work from 2009 - a piece entitled "The Stephen Klein Academy", which appeared in W Magazine in August 2009. In the piece, a female model with a close resemblance to Gaga's portrayal of her character in "Alejandro", Lara Stone, dominates over shirtless men with bowl haircuts; the men later appear in suits and army uniforms. Lara Stone, like Gaga, is seen in various positions with the men, standing over them, clearly showing her dominance and control over them. Synopsis The music video is eight minutes and forty three seconds long. The video begins with the words "GAGA" and "KLEIN", then finally "ALEJANDRO", all in white letters against a black backdrop. The video then opens in a dark bar, with soldiers wearing high-heels and fish net tights sitting quietly at tables. It pans over a few men and then fades into a dark warehouse where a group men, wearing boots and boxer briefs (some in black thongs), some carrying torture-esque equipment, start to march down the set in sharp military fashion. They all leave in separate directions and the scenes cut to show Gaga sitting in front of an open window, wearing a black garment and a complex metal headpiece that looks like a sort of crown; metal goggles cover her eyes. As the background music begins, she gasps and puts her hand over her mouth, and the next scene fades in to shows her, wearing a black lace headdress, walking through falling snow, carrying a bloody heart with a metal wire "A" on it as men in military uniforms follow her, carrying a black coffin. Scenes interchange between her carrying the bloody heart and another scene with a man holding a golden gun, sitting on a bed, naked from the waist up, with a stern look on his face. Gaga then speaks the first few phrases in front of the coffin, before the song actually begins with her in front of the window, looking down at a group of men in boots and black tight-fitting boxing briefs. The men dance in a choreographed fashion in front of a movie theater-type screen (which shows scenes of warfare) as Gaga sings above them, and they then began to dance one-on-one with each other. Gaga is then shown in bed, wearing a red latex nun's outfit and holding a rosary, as she speaks the next few phrases. The scene then suddenly cuts to show Gaga and a man imitating anal sex, but with Gaga taking the dominant role, as men in high heels surrounding them dance and frolic. Gaga then leads a group of male dancers in dancing. Scenes change again to show Gaga in a yellow latex gown adorned with her stylized cross in red surrounded by more men, who then proceed to throw her up in the air and catch her over and over again, while the scene cuts once to show her in bed, wearing the red nun outfit, putting the rosary into her mouth. Black and white scenes show Gaga dancing alone in a 70's-styled cat suit before being joined by men in uniforms marching towards her, while another scene (in color) shows her, in a similar outfit but wearing a bra with rifle barrels attatched, dancing with the same men. Gaga is then seen singing the "Alejandro" verse into a microphone alone in the dark on a stage, wearing sunglasses, a black jacket, underwear and bra, while the camera pans on men in military uniforms, specifically, a man in uniform who then takes off his hat, as a blurred background scene of a mob running around is shown. Black and white clips of previous scenes are shown, and then the scene changes again to Gaga in her yellow gown. Men in black briefs surround her, and Gaga strips off the gown as she falls to the ground over one of the men. The camera then pans on Gaga, in the red nun outfit, with Alejandro still sitting at the edge of the bed. As the camera approaches her, the film begins to burn from her face outwards. With many allusions to the earlier 'Bad Romance' film, 'Alejandro' plays upon similar notes, dealing with relationships of passion and exploration of other and self. Nazi, war-esque inspired costuming helps to give the film a World War II context of sorts, which is pushed by Klein's keen utilisation of shade, light and moody colouring. Gaga extends in her tower with a smoking pipe in hand, like a ruler, possibly even a dictator; her head is adorned with a skeletal crown, beaded by LED lights. It can be noted that a definite transition of aesthetics occurs from as early as 'Just Dance', where her hair length is extremely long, thick, and perfectly kept; her makeup extravagent and bold. 'Alejandro' as well as 'Bad Romance' subvert the ideals that Gaga reflects upon in the Fame album, as she begins to comment more upon the reality below the superficiality of life, people, and emotion. Her hair is tightly swept at the jaw and much thinner then before; makeup seems to continue this simplistic, almost beautiful-ugly feel. As Gaga has stated, she wished to release the Fame Monster despite only being half way through releasing the singles of the Fame album. This move in particular, is a move which has secured her many prestigeous titles such as having the most singles to and album in the top ten, advancing over the Late Michael Jackson's record. This gothic, vampire style has without doubt secured the interest of the world as they wait in awe of what Gaga could produce that is equally fresh and innovativein her next Album. Despite having seen all publically available Gaga films, these seem only a tease for what is inevitabely about to proceed and stun. Themes and symbolism Gaga's swallowing of the rosary signifies how people just accept and swallow up the doctrine of the church that says being gay is wrong, they adhere to it without question. The German theme - there is something very ominous about the german theme reminiscent of nazi germany; this paired with the reference to the church signify how gay men and women are shunned in todays society by the church, the army and other organizations just as the Jews were by Nazi. The nun outfit Gaga wears signifies how love can be a salvation just as how Christians believe dedicating your life to God can save you. Also, the swallowing of the rosary can signify salvation as well. Release and critical reception A snippet of the video was shown on Larry King Live on June 1, 2010. The clip was from the portion of the video in black-and-white, where Gaga and her dancers perform variations on a sharp military march throughout. Kara Warner of MTV said that it seemed reminiscent of Madonna's "Vogue" video, but stated that in "Alejandro", Gaga's style was more cutting, masculine and militant in contrast to Madonna's. On the program, Gaga said to King that the video has a "homoerotic military theme" ... "It is a celebration of my love and appreciation for the gay community, my admiration of their bravery, their love for one another and their courage in their relationships." The video premiered on Gaga's official website and her YouTube/Vevo account on June 8, 2010, at noon EDT (8 June 2010, 16:00 UTC). James Montogomery from MTV commented that "Gaga has created a world that, while oppressive, also looks great." Anthony Benigno from Daily News felt that "The shock songstress' new music video ... is chock full of bed-ridden S&M imagery that makes it look like the softcore answer to The Matrix. Jed Gottlieb from Boston Herald said that "The only thing prohibited the video is fun. 'Alejandro' presents a dark, somber and sad Lady Gaga; when she’s not sandwiched between writhing, rippled torsos, she’s brooding. The plot is hard to decipher, but it’s clearly not a story that ends happily ever after." Devon Thomas from CBS News compared the video to Madonna's early Blond Ambition World Tour era by saying that "video is a visual love letter to Madonna" He also declared that "video plays out like a dark piece of macabre theatre and is a more introspective departure from her previous clip 'Telephone'." Jen Dose from National Post commented "Even though I’m a little over Lady Gaga and her schtick by this point, I can’t deny that the woman has single-handedly brought back “event” music videos. Gaga’s new vid for 'Alejandro' certainly brings the crazy we’ve all come to expect from her. It’s like an 8+ minute homage to Madonna—with some gay Nazis thrown in for good measure." Randall Roberts from Los Angeles Times said "the clip reinforces the notion that no one understands the convergence of image and music right now better than Gaga." Julie Moult from Daily Mail said "the video, no-one could accuse Lady Gaga of being the shy and retiring type. The Catholic League criticized the video for its use of religious imagery. In an interview with MTV, Klein explained that "The religious symbolism is not meant to denote anything negative, but represents the character's battle between the dark forces of this world and the spiritual salvation of the Soul. Thus at the end of the film, she chooses to be a nun, and the reason her mouth and eyes disappear is because she is withdrawing her senses from the world of evil and going inward towards prayer and contemplation." Klein added that the scene where Gaga devours the rosary beads is meant to represent "the desire to take in the Holy". Cast *Lady Gaga — Herself *Dancers — Michael Silas, Jeremy Hudson, Mark Kanemura, Benjamin Susak, Cassidy Noblett, Victor Del Campo, JC Carrier, Mike Munich, Casey Johansen, Sean Patrick *Boys — Evandro Soldati, Arkady Images Alejandro033sternlook.jpg Alejandro Crown.jpg Alejandro031coffin.jpg Picture 37.png Alejandro Underwear 01.jpg Alejandro Beads.jpg Picture 05.png Alejandro22.png Picture 33.png Lady Gaga - Alejandro_0001.jpg Alejandro 01.jpg AlejandroFashion13 2.png ALEJANDRO4.jpg Alejandro 03.jpg Fashion credits Scene 1 AlejandroFashion1.png Boys: Military outfits custom made by Emporio Armani. Scene 2 AlejandroFashion2.png Boys: Men's high waisted shorts and mask by Haus of Gaga, metal body structures by Dinner, studded glasses by Kerin Rose, and military boots custom made by Emporio Armani. Scene 3 AlejandroFashion3.png Lady Gaga: Metal headpiece by Nasir Mazhar and black cape custom made by Alexander McQueen. Scene 4 AlejandroFashion4.png Lady Gaga: Binocular headpiece by Nasir Mazhar and black cape custom made by Alexander McQueen. Boys: Military outfits custom made by Emporio Armani and studded glasses by Kerin Rose. Scene 5 AlejandroFashion5.png Evandro: Studded helmey by Mouton Collet. Scene 6 AlejandroFashion6.png Lady Gaga: Lace outfit by Alexander McQueen and rose headdress custom made by Philip Treacy for Alexander McQueen. Boys: Military Outfits custom made by Emporio Armani. Scene 7 AlejandroFashion7.png Boys: Men's high waisted shorts by Haus of Gaga and military boots custom made by Emporio Armani. Scene 8 AlejandroFashion81.png AlejandroFashion82.png Lady Gaga: Eed nun outfit custom made by Atsuko Kudo and rosary beads necklace and jewels by Pamela Love. Scene 9 AlejandroFashion91.png AlejandroFashion92.png AlejandroFashion93.png Lady Gaga: underwear by Calvin Klein, black heels by Christian Louboutin, and stockings by Agent Provocateur. Boys: Men's high waisted shorts by Haus of Gaga and military boots custom made by Emporio Armani. Scene 10 AlejandroFashion10.png Boys: Black underwear by Calvin Klein and black high heels by Pleaser. Scene 11 AlejandroFashion11.png AlejandroFashion11 2.png AlejandroFashion11 3.png Lady Gaga: Rubber outfit custom made by Jaiden rVa James and Night Makers by Noritaka Tatehana. Boys: Men's high waisted shorts by Haus of Gaga and military biits custom made by Emporio Armani. Scene 12 AlejandroFashion12.png AlejandroFashion12 2.png Lady Gaga: Black vest by Dolce & Gabbana, black pants by Francesco Scognamiglio, and black high heels by Pleaser. Scene 13 AlejandroFashion13.png Rifle Barrel Bra.jpg Lady Gaga: Rifle Barrel Bra custom made by David Samuel Menkes, black pants by Francesco Scognamiglio, black high heels by Pleaser. Boys: Military outfits custom made by Emporio Armani. Scene 14 AlejandroFashion14.png AlejandroFashion14 2.png AlejandroFashion14 3.jpg Lady Gaga: Leather jacket by Hussein Chalayan, Night Makers by Noritaka Tatehana, panties by Rigby & Peller, and vintage sunglasses by Versace. Behind the Scenes :Photography by Jonathan Ho BehindtheScenes10.jpg BehindtheScenes9.jpg BehindtheScenes6.jpg BehindtheScenes5.jpg BehindtheScenes2.jpg BehindtheScenes.jpg BehindtheScenes3.jpg BehindtheScenes4.jpg BehindtheScenes8.jpg BehindtheScenes11.jpg 403270_339769116065058_103282773047028_951793_1910989201_n.jpg Credits Song Personnel *All instruments played and programmed — RedOne *Vocal arrangement — RedOne and Lady Gaga *Vocal editing — RedOne and Johnny Severin *Recorded — RedOne at FC Walvisch (Amsterdam, ), Sonic Vista Studios (Ibiza, ) on July 24, 2009. *Engineered — RedOne and Eelco Bakker (from FC Walvisch) *Mixed — Robert Orton at Studio 3 of Sarm Studios (London, ) Publishers Music video *Location — Pier59 Studios West *Art director — Matthew Williams *Stylist — Nicola Formichetti *Director — Steven Klein *Producer — Jil Hardin *Production company — HSI Productions *Director of photography — Janusz Kamiński *Colorist — Stefan Sonnenfeld (Company 3) *Lighting direction — Dave Devlin (B2Pro) *Production designer — Gideon Ponte *Executive producer — Coleen Haynes *Editor — Avid Diva (Dustin Robertson) *Finishing — Steele Studios *Colorist — Stefan Sonnenfeld (Company 3) *Telecine producer — Rhubie Jovanov *Label Commissioner — Nicole Ehrlich *Choreographer — Laurieann Gibson *Hair — Eugene Souleiman *Make up — Val Garland *Styling team — Anna Trevelyan, Brandon Maxwell *Set construction — Vision Scenery *Scenic artists — Jon Cummings, Michael Thomas References *''The Fame Monster booklet'' *BMI | Repertoire Search Category:Songs Category:Singles Category:Music videos Category:The Fame Monster songs Category:The Monster Ball Tour songs Category:The Fame Monster singles Category:The Born This Way Ball Tour songs